Analysis & Opinion

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 (Reuters) - The Android smartphone
operating system is a very important asset for Google, but it is
not critical, Google's chief executive said in courtroom
testimony.

Google CEO Larry Page took the stand for a second day on
Wednesday in a high-stakes legal dispute with Oracle over
smartphone technology.

Oracle sued Google in August 2010, saying Google's Android
mobile operating system tramples its intellectual property
rights to the Java programming language. Google says it does not
violate Oracle's patents and that Oracle cannot copyright
certain parts of Java, an "open-source," or publicly available,
software language.

Under questioning from Oracle's lawyer, Page said Android
was very important but disputed the notion that it was critical.
He then said that he wouldn't be surprised if Google's board was
told that Android is critical to the company.

Page also said he was not aware of Google's policies on the
copying of the intellectual property of other companies.
However, Page maintained Google did nothing wrong.

"We were very careful about what information we used and
what we did not use," Page said.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison testified on Tuesday, saying that
Oracle had explored building its own smartphone before deciding
against the idea.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of
California, is Oracle America, Inc v. Google Inc, 10-3561.